Beneath the triple C: downgrade rate slows as $8 billion of CLO loans tumble
May offered some respite to CLO portfolios as corporate downgrades to triple C were reduced heavily - affecting just $6.67 billion of US CLO paper and €1.09 billion of European CLO portfolios

Autos dominate in BofA €25 billion fallen angel watchlist
Downgrade impact for fallen angels in the coming months could be more extreme than during the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of America strategists have warned, as they identified €25 billion worth of debt at European investment grade companies most at risk of falling into high yield territory

Beneath the triple C: $31.6 billion of CLO credits feel downgrade pain
March madness took a toll on CLOs as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s downgraded 4.25% of the portfolios in the US and 1.84% in Europe to triple C or below in just one month (some of these were already triple C rated, only to fall further).

Credit traders' kickstand: rolling with the pain, as relative value trades come unstuck
What a difference a month - and a pandemic - make. This time in February, no-one could have imagined a global financial crisis would be unfolding, that credit performance would be a battle between a virus and some of the biggest government and central bank interventions on record, that today's iTraxx Europe and CDX index rolls would traverse unprecedented ranges, that option expiry strikes would be blown beyond recognition, or that cash and CDS differentials would be whipsawing with such violence

CDS index rolls to proceed on time despite record volatility and lockdowns
This Friday's move into new CDS index series will go ahead as scheduled, administrator IHS Markit has said, having sought advice on whether to postpone the roll date due to coronavirus-led market volatility

Credit traders’ kickstand: roll nightmares haunt CDS market as indices whiplash
It’s Friday 13^th, but CDS traders will be hoping the worst of the horror shows are behind them as they try to regather their shredded nerves in time for next week’s biannual index rolls

Curve inversion for airlines and freight as Trump travel ban sparks sell-off
Airlines, travel firms and shipping companies are among some of the credits hit hardest by US president Donald Trump’s imposition of a ban on travel from mainland Europe, a move that sent the iTraxx Crossover index back to its widest level since October 2012

Credit breakdown as one-day volatility outstrips financial crisis
Credit default swap markets have surpassed the record one-day volatility of the global financial crisis, with indices surging to new wide prints as the spiralling impact of the coronavirus outbreak brings government lockdowns on travel while wreaking havoc on oil prices and supply chains

Franklin Templeton reorganises long-short credit fund team
Asset manager Franklin Templeton Investments will make changes to the portfolio managers for the Franklin K2 Long Short Credit funds, effective from October

Nordea AM portfolio manager joins Capital Four
Capital Four Management has appointed Nordea Asset Management portfolio manager Stine Milling Pilegaard as a director in its Copenhagen office

Ontario pension selects new president and CEO

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has appointed Jo Taylor as its new president and chief executive officer, effective 1 January  

Former Apollo co-head of credit lands at MidOcean as credit CIO
MidOcean Credit Partners has hired Dana Carey as chief investment officer

Barclays rehires high yield credit trader from Goldman Sachs
A high yield specialist has become the second credit trader in as many months to rejoin Barclays from Goldman Sachs

100% pay-out on New Look CDS as physical bids fail to materialise
A credit event auction to settle CDS referencing New Look today resulted in a zero cent final price, meaning contracts paid out to protection buyers in full - the first time this has happened other than by a 'deemed auction' decision since 2012

I still love to sit in front of computer screens to try and understand markets
Jochen Felsenheimer of Xaia Investment takes our credit quiz

Oak Hill reshuffles leadership in Europe
Oak Hill Advisors has appointed three long-serving members of its investment and business development teams to lead the European office

HSBC boosts single name CDS and index trading with experienced hire
HSBC has added a former index trading head to its credit team in London

Deutsche plots single name CDS return and index push with two senior hires
Deutsche Bank has made two senior credit trading hires to its London office, with sources saying these portend a revival of its CDS market-making business

Stone Harbor appoints co-CIO and high yield co-heads
Stone Harbor Investment Partners, the New York headquartered credit fund manager, has opted to share out its chief investment officer responsibilities

Atlanticomnium adds co-manager to credit opportunities team
Atlanticomnium, an investment advisor for several of GAM Investments' bond funds, has appointed a co-manager of GAM credit opportunities strategies

Ullico makes two senior hires for its new fixed income platform
Ullico, an insurance and financial services company, has appointed two senior professionals for its newly-created fixed income investment platform, UIA Investment Management (UIA IM)  

Man Numeric launches credit platform and appoints co-heads of credit
Man Numeric, the quantitative investment business of Man Group, has launched a new credit unit and appointed two officials to lead the business

Alaska fund appoints CIO
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC), the $65 billion sovereign wealth fund, has promoted an official to chief investment officer.

The perception of liquidity is often not the same as the reality
Investec Asset Management's Jeff Boswell takes our credit quiz and discusses liquidity in Europe, the former "darling of the European debt market" Vivarte and the Matrix

European CLO PM rumoured to be joining CIFC from large asset manager
CIFC Asset Management looks to have made a major breakthrough in its bid to establish a European credit business with the $17 billion asset manager rumoured to be hiring the head of European performing credit at a large global credit firm